From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Envelope and two letters from Juliusz Ajzenberg (Julian Eisenberg), Czestochowa, 1945

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Envelope and two letters sent by Juliusz Ajzenberg (Julian Eisenberg) from Czestochowa, Poland, to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, 1945. 4 pages, handwritten, original, in Polish Inventory: 1. Letter sent by Julius on 8 March 1945. He infroms Schwarzbaum that he and his wife Izabela Ajzenberg (nee Rechtman) were in concentration camps and are currently in Czestochowa. He asks for Schwarzbaum's help in tracing his brother in law, Dr. Romuald Rechtman. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Polish 2. Letter sent by Julius on 29 April 1945. He asks again about Dr. Rechtman and adds that Tusia Z. is alive and residing in Katowice. He informs Schwarzbaum that his acquintance Zinwel Wokstein is alive, as are his wife Zosia and their daughter. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Polish 3. Envelope sent by Julius on 2 May 1945. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Polish About Alfred Schwarzbaum: Alfred (Alf) Schwarzbaum was a Jewish merchant from Bedzin, Poland, who fled to Switzerland after the occupation. In Switzerland, he set up a relief enterprise, and supported hundreds of Jews. Alfred (Alf) Schwarzbaum was born in 1896 in Sosnowiec, Poland. He later moved to Bedzin, became a businessman and started a family. In late September 1939, following the German occupation of Poland, he sent his daughter to England. In November 1939, he was jailed for several weeks in Myslowice and was interrogated by the Gestapo. After his release, he turned down an offer from Mosheh Merin, head of the Sosnowiec Jewish council, to be his deputy. Using his connections and his fortune, he was able to obtain visas for Switzerland. In April 1940, he left Poland and settled in Lausanne. Schwarzbaum soon started sending out food, clothing, money and papers to Poland. He managed to navigate between the often uncoordinated Jewish and Zionist organizations based in Switzerland, to transfer financial help to Jews in Poland. He sent hundreds of parcels to German occupied localities, via Lisbon, Sweden and Turkey. He visited refugee camps in Switzerland, and corresponded with persons living under the Nazi rule. He also produced passports, which led him into trouble with the Swiss police, who feared for violation of the country's neutrality policy. In 1945, he immigrated to Mandate Palestine. In Israel, he supported funds and provided stipends for students in need, in several Israeli institutes for higher education. He died in 1990.